Electric iron



May 5, 1953 R. R. FlTzslMMoNs V2,637,126 ELECTRIC IRON ail- Les

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May 5, 1953 R. R. FrrzslMMoNs ELECTRIC IRON Filed March 28, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED lSTATES PATENT OFFICE 25631126- LECTRIC IRON Richard R. Fitzsi'nilons, Chicago, Ill.; ass'ignor to The Hoover Company,I North Canton, Ohioi` a corporation of Ohio 6 claims.

This invention relates to electric irons and more particularly to an electrically heated steam iron which is readily convertible to' dry ironing.

The present invention relates more particu` larly to a readily replaceable steam generating and distributing vessel for a steam iron. designed as a replacement part for replacement. by servicemen when the interior of the' vessel becoines encrusted with lime deposits during use. The vessel ci the present' invention incldes super` heating passages and traps in which any un# evaporated Water leaving the flash boilerv proper is evaporated so that dry siperheajted steam is supplied tothe ironing surface oi theJ i'ron.

Most tapA water contains salts Stich as calcium salts which, when the water is evaporated', are deposited on the surface or the boiler and steam passages. In the steam ironZ by the" continued use of calcium containing water, the flash boiler and steam passages will' eventually becoine coated with lime deposits to such an extent that the passages will eventually' become' clogged, if not periodically cleaned. In addition, the coat: ing of lime deposits inv theboiler acts a heaty insulator and' retards the transfer of heat from the heater tothe water in the boiler which re-y sults in a marked decrease in ef'ciericy' of the iron.

AccordingV to the present invention the boiler and steam passages are readily separable from` they iron proper so that when excessiveV lime` de'- posits have formed' the boiler may be readily replaced and the old* one'` discarded orl reconditioned for reuse.

The flash boiler of the present invention;

while readily removable for replacement, Yis in'.

direct heat exchange relationshipl withith'e'heatver which is embedded in t'h'esolel plate. The sole" plate is preferably made of aluminum' and' the bottom of the boiler in heat exchange relationship therewith may be made of any good heat conducting material which may bereadily cast or stamped to its exact" dimensions by' niass piro:- duction methods;

According to the present' invention thegn'a'sliboiler including the steam passagetva'ys is poi sitioned on topof the normally hotv upper? sur? face of the sole plate.whielrresults/inthreeirni-Y portant advantages. l

First, there areA no stea'xfn passages" betweenthe heater and the ironing surfacessoE that the,

heat flow path fromthe heaterV to" the ironing surfaceis the same whetherthe'ir'on isus'ed dryj or as al steainliron:

Second,l the' heat normally' radiated-I upwardly 2 and `wasted is utilized in producing and superheating rsteam-. Third, the boiler is positioned between the sole plate proper and the water reservoirht'o isolatethe latter from the heat or the sole plate by a; layer of steam when the iron isused as ai steam iron and by an air chamber when the iron is used as a dry iron.

According to another feature of the present invention, the handle and the water reservoir are readily removable as av uniti to' provide for the ready removal of the vessel from the .sole plate. TheV bolt which holds the handle raservoir assembly to. the' sole platernaintairrsa tig'lrl"I joint between the valve assembly and the' duct leading directly to the flash' boiler proper; According to another ieatureof thepresent invention, the cover plate: for the boiler proper is made of poor heat conducting material so that the upper surface ci the boiler will be sub? stantially below the temperature or thefstearri passing through the passageways therein tojfnr-` ther isolate the Water reservoir from' the heat of the sole plate. Y

Other objects and advantages of the present invention' will become apparent when taken connection with thel accompanying' drawings in' which:

Figure 1 is a sideview ci'V an" electric i'ron, p`air' tia'lly in section, showing thev present ini/eruzionil Figure 2 is a sectional View takenf on lineff-" of Fig. 1J looking in the direction' of the arrows; and

Figure eis an exploded' View 0f the replaceable vessel o f the present invention. Y In the drawings, the reference' numeral' fil" represents' the sol'e plate proper which" may be made oi aluminum and having ametal encased heater Il' cast therein preferably in al lj2 L extending VupWandly from theupper surface of the sole plate. The heater lil' is` oi general U- shape; having itsybight or, nexusjadjacent the tce'of the iron and its"legs`extending backwardly to the rear of the sole plateadja'ce'nt the opposite side edgesthereof.

The reference numeral lIlgenerailyrepresents the replacement vessel' of the" present inventibn'. It' comprises al disc shaped bottoni part Hi' and' an inner separator 23 which maybe braaed;

^ welded, or otherwise secured together. Theftwo" parts i ii' and 23' areprefeiably made of goed heat conducting' metal such" as" aluminum; copper, brass/or bronze; f

Thebottom" part [5i has an upwardly entendi-` ing bulge lain its bottom or a Snape' and size to closely t in good heat exchange relationship with the rib I2 in which the heater II is embedded, and an upwardly extending side wall Il to which rear and front clamping lugs I8 and I9 are brazed, soldered, or otherwise secured. The rear lug I8 ts beneath the spring element 20 screwed or otherwise secured to the sole plate I and a clamping clip 2I fits over the front lug I9 to clamp the boiler I4 tightly to the sole plate I0, by means of the screw 22.

The separator 23 comprises a U-shaped wall 24 spaced from the wall Il of the bottom part I5 to form a pair of steam distributing ducts 25, the bottom part I being provided with openings 26 communicating with steam discharge ports 26' extending through the sole plate i5 to the ironing surface thereof and with ducts 25. While the ducts have been shown connected at their front ends it is within the purview of this invention to form them as separate ducts.

Welded, brazed or otherwise secured to the inner surface of the wall 24 and to the bottom o1" the part I5 are a plurality of staggered bailles 21 having their alternate ends spaced from the wall 24 to form a tortuous steam superheating passage 23 and at the front a iiash boiler proper 29. The rear ends of the legs of the wall 24 are cut away at 30 and 3| to form passages which connect the superheating passage 28 with the distributing ducts 25. It is to be noted that at the ends of baiiles 2l the superheating passage 28 passes directly over the bulge I5 which is in direct heat exchange relationship with the heater, the end of the baffles being cut away to intert with the bulge I5. that the bulge I6 forms traps at the ends of the juxtaposed passages formed by baffles 2l so that any unevaporated water reaching those points will be trapped and evaporated the bulge I6 being in direct heat exchange relationship with the heater II.

A cover plate 32, made of poor heat conducting material such as hard rubber, Bakelite or stainless steel, is bolted to the flange 33 of bottom part I5 by bolts 34. A sealing gasket 35 of cork or other suitable heat resistant material is positioned between the mating surfaces of the flange 33 and cover plate 32, it being noted that the baiiles 2'I extend above the surface of the flange 33 in order to compensate for the space occupied by the gasket 35.

The cover plate 32 is provided with an opening 36 immediately above the flash boiler 29. At its upper end the opening is of tapered formation as indicated at 3l to cooperate with the tapered lower end 38 of a valve body 39, a conical heat resistant gasket 40 being interposed between the two surfaces.

The valve body 39 is suitably secured in an opening in the bottom wall of a water reservoir 4I, held by brackets 42 and 43, beneath a cover shell 44 which extends downwardly about the peripheral edges of sole plate ID. The reservoir 4I is provided with an upwardly extending dome 45 surrounded by a compression spring 46 tting between the lower wall of an upwardly extending protuberance 41 in cover shell 44 and the top of the reservoir 4I to normally hold the mating surfaces 3'I and 38 against the gasket 46 when the iron is assembled.

A valve stem 48, adapted to close the opening 49 in valve body 39, is housed within a valve stem housing 50 suitably secured to dome 45 as by a clamping nut 5I. The valve stem 48 may be screw threaded to the interior of the housing 58 It is also noted l.

in a manner well known in the art and is prvided with an operating knob 52 by which the valve stem 48 may be adjusted relative to the opening 49 in the valve body 39 or may be seated in that opening to close off communication between the reservoir 4I and the flash boiler 29 when the iron is to be used as a dry iron. The valve stem 48 is also adjustable relative to its valve seat to control the rate of flow of water to the flash boiler 29 when the iron is used as a steam iron.

A handle 53, having a hollow front leg 54, to receive the valve stem housing 58 and the knob 52 and a rear leg 55 is secured to the cover shell 44 by brackets 56 and 51, the former extending upwardly into the recess in the front leg 54 and the latter extending upwardly into a recess in the rear leg 55.

The cover shell 44 is extended rearwardly beyond the sole plate I0 at 58, which extension cooperates with the top rear 59 of handle 53 to form supports upon which the iron may be supported on its heel when not in use. The knob 52 and valve stem 50 are of hollow formation and the interior of the latter communicates with the interior of the reservoir 4I so that water can be poured into the reservoir when the iron is resting on the sole plate I0. The arrangement is such that the opening 49 will be above the water level in the reservoir 4I when the iron is tipped backwardly on its heels on supports 58 and 59 when not in use.

Electricity is supplied to the heater II by conductor cords 6B which extend through the rear leg 55 of handle 53 in a manner well known in the art. The cords 66 are attached to terminals 5I, one of which is connected to one end of the heater resistance and the other to a temperature control thermostat B2, the other end of which is connected to the other end of the heater resistance. The terminals 6I are clamped in place by a bracket 63 having an upwardly extending support 64 to which the rear of the cover shell 44 is attached by means of screw 65. At its midpoint the cover shell 44 is secured to a post 66 extending upwardly from the sole plate I0 by means of a screw 6'I. A closure plate 68 is attached to the extension 58 of the cover shell by a screw 69 to provide access to terminals 6I. A control shaft "I5 extends upwardly through an opening in the cover shell 44 and has a control knob 'II detachably secured thereto.

While the boiler I4 has been shown as extending backwardly to adjacent the post 66 it is to be understood that it may be extended backwardly along each side of the post and along each side of the thermostat 62. It may also be provided with an opening through which the post 66 extends.

Assembly and disassembly The sole plate is cast with the heater II embedded in the rib I2, the discharge ports 26' drilled and the ironing surface of the sole plate polished. The control thermostat 62, control shaft 10, terminals 6I, bracket 63 and post 66 are then assembled to the sole plate I8. As a separate operation the boiler I4 is formed as previously explained and the gasket 35, and cover plate 32 assembled thereto. The valve body 39, valve stem housing 50, valve stem 48 are assembled to the reservoir 4I. The end 68 of conductor cord is assembled to a rear leg 55 of handle 53. The cover shell 44 is secured to the front and rear legs 54 and 55 of handle 53 by brackets 56 and 57. The spring 46 is assembled over dome 4l', the r -ei-ueisvoirc 4|: positioned within.' the.v shell 44 with the domo; 4.5 @13d Valvestem; housing 50 extending upwardly into the hollow front leg 5d of the handle and secured thereto by brackets 4 2? and 43, the arrangement being'such that; then spring 4S presses -t-he front., end of' the reservoir 45|; downwardly against they bracket 4h33 The boiler irlu is then attached to the sole plate lll by theI bracketsV 2D and 2|.

The handle-cover shell-reservoir assembly is then assembled over the sole plate-boiler-assembly by applying the screws 6'5 and Eil which will cause the spring 4B to press the reservoir 4| downwardly and make tight contact between the conical opening 31' and the conical valve body 39, the gasket 4l) being interposed therebetween. The cover plate E8 may then be assembled by screw 69 after the connections have been made between the cord 60 and the terminals 6|. The control knobs 52 and 'll are then applied to the valve stem 48 and to the control shaft '10, completing the assembly.

To remove the boiler assembly I4 for replacement it is only necessary to detach control knobs 52 and li, remove screws 65, B1 and 69 and tilt the handle-cover shell-reservoir assembly backward to expose the boiler I4 which may then be easily removed by detaching the clip 2i and sliding the boiler assembly forward from beneath the clip 20.

Operation With the iron resting on the sole plate and the valve stem 48 closed against its seat, water may be supplied to the reservoir 4I by pouring it through the hollow control knob 52 and valve stem housing 5l), it being noted that the outlet from the hollow valve stem 5U to the interior of the reservoir lll is such that the quantity of water which may be poured into the reservoir tl is limited so that the water level will be below the opening 4,9 when the iron is tilted rearwardly on the supports 58 and 59.

If the iron is to be used as a steam iron, the control knob 52 is adjusted so that the valve is opened the proper distance to supply the proper quantity of steam for the fabric being ironed and the control knob 'il adjusted to the proper temperature for that fabric. When the iron is tilted forwardly on the sole plate water will automatically drip into the ash boiler 29 and be flashed into steam which will flow backwardly through the superheating passageways 28 between the baffles 21, outwardly through the openings 3b and 3l into the steam ducts 25 and through the openings 26 and 26' to the fabric being ironed.

Any water which may perchance leave the flash boiler 2a proper will be trapped in the superheating passage 28 by the upwardly extending humps IG which form traps at the end of each passage formed by baffles 21.

When the iron is not being used it is usually tilted backwardly upon the supports 58 and 59 and the flow of water to the flash boiler 29 will be automatically terminated since the level of the water in the reservoir 4i will be below the opening lle.

When it is desired to use the iron as a dry iron the control knob 52 is operated to close the valve to completely shut olf the flow of water to the flash boiler 29 and the thermostatic control knob 'H adjusted to the proper temperature for the fabric to be ironed.

From the foregoing it can be seen that this inassale@ vention provides ,a simple replaceable vessel for a; Steamironwhch caribe easily replaced by a new One and the old one discarded. or reconditioned. for reuse.v Additionally,4 the handle-cover shell.- reservoir assembly issuch that a sealing contact is automatically made between the. valve body and the openingA in thel cover. plate leading tothe hash boiler proper by the, mere attachment of that assenibly to the sole, plate. By such ani arrangement no lifting,A stress is applied to theA boiler proper as the ironisI movedabout.

While I have, shown. and describedl but a singley embodiment. of my invention iti'sto be understood that that embodiment is to be takenas. illustrative. only and not in, alimiting. sense. I do not wish to be limitedV to the particular structure shown and described but to include all equivalent variations thereof except as limited by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In an electric iron; a sole plate; a U-shaped heating element embedded therein; said sole plate having an upwardly extending land above said heating element and being formed with steam emitting openings therethrough between said land and the lateral edges thereof and a detachable steam generating and distributing vessel detachably secured to the top of said sole plate, said vessel being formed with a flash boiler in intimate heat exchange relationship with said land at the bight or nexus of said heating element, steam distributing ducts connecting said flash boiler to said steam emitting ducts, a water reservoir supported above said vessel and a valved opening formed in the bottom of said reservoir above said flash boiler for controlling the flow of water thereto.

2. In an electric iron according to claim 1 in which said land forms a depressed portion centrally of said sole plate and a depressed portion over said steam emitting openings and said steam generating and distributing vessel interts with said depressed portions and land in such a manner that said steam distributing ducts are in heat exchange relationship with the inner, top and outer sides of said land.

3. In an electric iron according to claim 1 including a separator within said steam generating and distributing vessel dividing said element into a front flash boiler proper, a tortuous superheating passage extending rearwardly from said ash boiler and steam conveying ducts between said separator and the outer walls of said vessel and communicating with the rear ends of said superheating duct.

4. In an electric iron, a sole plate, a heating element therefor, a steam generating and distributing vessel detachably secured to said sole plate in heat exchange with said heating element, a flash boiler formed in said Vessel, and a handlecover shell-water reservoir assembly detachably secured to said sole plate independently of said Vessel, said vessel and reservoir having mating water delivering connections above said flash boiler which are held in mating relationship when said handle-cover shell-water reservoir assembly is attached to said sole plate.

5. In an electric iron according to claim 4 including spring means for holding said water delivering connections in mating relationship when said assembly is attached to said sole plate.

6. A steam generating and distributing vessel for detachable connection to the sole plate of an electrically heated iron comprising, a dish shaped bottom member having its lower surface formed to intert with the top surface of said sole plate, a separator interiorly of said bottom member, said separator including a U-shaped wall spaced from the side walls of said bottom member to form a pair of forwardly extending steam conducting passages and staggered transversely extending walls forming a front flash boiler and a rearwardly extending tortuous steam superheating passage communicating at its rear end through said U-shaped wall with said forwardly extending steam conducting passages and a cover plate detachably secured to the open top of said vessel and overlying said flash boiler and said steam passages.

RICHARD R. FITZSIMMONS.

Number Name Date Jones Nov. 26, 1940 Kistner Mar. 9, 1943 Schreyer July 5, 1949 Edwards Oct. 4, 1949 Scott Oct. 25, 1949 Finlayson Feb. 28, 1950 Scott May 9, 1950 

